July 27, 2021

Starry-Eyed and Vaccinated


Starry-Eyed and Vaccinated
Constellations and vaccinations Josh Rangel, Unsplash

On July 20, Meduza reported that astrologer Vasilisa Volodina, the Russian television personality and host of Russia’s Channel One show “Let’s Get Married!,” is identifying “safe” days for individuals to be vaccinated – based on their astrological birth charts.

Volodina began uploading lists of general astrological predictions to her Instagram page at the beginning of July that included advice on when to be vaccinated. Her followers began bombarding her with requests to predict the most auspicious days for their vaccinations.

Overwhelmed, Volodina directed them to her YouTube channel, where she listed ideal times for individuals born on specific dates to be vaccinated. She recommends that those seeking to be vaccinated first consult a doctor about their individual circumstances, but claims her predictions will help people avoid high temperatures, allergic reactions, and other negative effects of vaccination.

People were concerned about what would happen if they were not vaccinated in Moscow, or whether other days in the month would also suffice. Volodina regretted that she would not be able to “make all cities happy every day” with her prognoses, but for a fee of only R2300 (about $30 US dollars) and a period of five days, individuals could have their own “Astro-Calendar for Safe Vaccinations.”

Volodina cautions her fans not to let a less-than-perfect general prediction dissuade them from being vaccinated. “The way out is not to wait for the sun to shine.”

 

You Might Also Like

Sputnik V: First Place or Long Shot?
  • March 01, 2021

Sputnik V: First Place or Long Shot?

The Russia vaccine seems top-notch, but low public trust and a botched rollout remain formidable barriers to returning to normalcy.
Life in Isolation
  • September 01, 2020

Life in Isolation

We have all had to experience some unplanned isolation during the pandemic. So we decided to visit some Russians who have long been living isolated lives.
Doses Down the Drain
  • July 20, 2021

Doses Down the Drain

While most Russians aren't known to shy away from free shots (vaccine or otherwise), one administrator is under investigation for selling documents sans immunizations.
The Right Dosage
  • July 14, 2021

The Right Dosage

“Sex after administration of the vaccine does not cause any side effects in people of any age. As a matter of fact, sexual activity provides a lot of satisfaction and pleasure. People’s fears go away, as sex 'turns off' the head and relieves stress.” – Sexologist sexologist Andrei Lygachin, refuting the idea that individuals should avoid sex after being vaccinated against COVID-19.
Cracking the QR Code
  • July 12, 2021

Cracking the QR Code

In Moscow, a pair of legs with hot red stilettos on one end and a plush purple QR code at the other flounced down a Moscow street and into a restaurant.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

Faith & Humor: Notes from Muscovy

A book that dares to explore the humanity of priests and pilgrims, saints and sinners, Faith & Humor has been both a runaway bestseller in Russia and the focus of heated controversy – as often happens when a thoughtful writer takes on sacred cows. The stories, aphorisms, anecdotes, dialogues and adventures in this volume comprise an encyclopedia of modern Russian Orthodoxy, and thereby of Russian life.
Jews in Service to the Tsar

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.
The Samovar Murders

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.
Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Marooned in Moscow

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.
93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
Moscow and Muscovites

Moscow and Muscovites

Vladimir Gilyarovsky's classic portrait of the Russian capital is one of Russians’ most beloved books. Yet it has never before been translated into English. Until now! It is a spectactular verbal pastiche: conversation, from gutter gibberish to the drawing room; oratory, from illiterates to aristocrats; prose, from boilerplate to Tolstoy; poetry, from earthy humor to Pushkin. 
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955